Devon & Cornwall Police now has its own dedicated, full time “No Excuse” roads policing team, based on the proven and ongoing success of the initiative pioneered by Dorset Police from 2010.

In its first two days of operation in Truro and Torquay as a fully staffed unit the team has produced some impressive results.

One person was arrested and charged for failing to stop at the scene of a collision, 300 speeding vehicles were detected whose drivers will receive bad news in the post, 15 vehicles were seized as the drivers had either no insurance or no driving licence leaving the owners with a long walk home, 6 vehicles were prohibited because they were unfit for the road, two people were arrested for driving while over the prescribed drug limits and there were two drug seizures, 16 drivers were offered education to improve their driving behaviours and finally 57 fixed penalties for other offences were given.

The Devon & Cornwall Police No Excuse team worked together with officers from Dorset Police No Excuse, Alliance Operations department officers including the dog unit, ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) researchers, the police professional development unit in Cornwall, the road crime unit and the Peninsula Road Safety Partnership.

Sgt. Jon Kerridge-Smith, who leads the team, said: “This was a very productive couple of days work across both counties to keep our roads safe, and the results send a message. This is what we will continue to do. The driving behaviours that endanger people on our roads are easily avoidable and that is why we say there is no excuse for them. Now there is more chance that you will be caught.”

There are already three more operations across five days planned for the rest of the month.

Sgt Kerridge-Smith added: “These inaugural operations very much demonstrate how the No Excuse team of seven officers including myself will work. Clearly, we can’t be everywhere, but by working in partnership with other agencies and by targeting risk areas defined by intelligence from local police teams and from the public, we greatly leverage our effectiveness.”

Devon & Cornwall Police recently also announced an additional 17 dedicated Alliance roads policing officers, an enhanced roads safety and road policing budget and a new strategic plan to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads of Devon and Cornwall.